Re: tell us about your job
What do you do? Film & Television writer/producer/director. I also find myself editing this week.
Do you like it? It all depends on the project. But on the whole, yes.
What makes you in particular well-suited or poorly-suited for your work? Well, I'm very creative-minded and need the constant chaos and daily changes to be interested in what I'm doing. I'd be no good at a job that was repetitive or the "same old same old" day in and day out.
What kind of people do best in your work? Talented, hard-workers. Intelligence and some culture is nice, too.
What qualifications are necessary for people considering work in the same field as you? Experience. Climbing up through the ranks. A film degree means bupkus to most people in this field. Also, an absolute love of what you do. And a close relationship with financial hardship doesn't hurt, either.
What is a typical day like? That's what's great about my job: there is no typical day. It usually revolves around pre-production, production and post-production. Some days I'm writing up budgets or creating a script, others I'm traveling all over the country shooting various kinds of shows or commercials or corporate crap, and others I'm in an editing bay hammering out a cut with an editor.
What kind of problems do you encounter? This line of work is naturally difficult, high-pressure and sometimes frustrating. Clients can be unreasonable, tempers flare....really nothing too different from any job, I would think.
What are the biggest (most common) sources of frustration and elation? Frustration is usually caused by the person who owns the studio I work for. He has no clue how to run a company. Elation is rare, though satisfaction is often possible. And that comes from figuring out a particular problem, making a client thrilled with the end product, or just creating something artistically pleasing.
How much do you make? $85k/year plus various bonuses. I also sometimes take freelance jobs that bumps me over 100K. Having a salaried position like I do right now is very rare - some years I've made as little as $10K, some as much as $250K...so, as you can see it's quite volatile.
How much can one expect to make in your position? Sky's the limit.
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